Senior Cyber RF Hardware Engineer

STR; Melbourne (FL); On-site; USD 95,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

STR in Melbourne, Florida is hiring a Senior Cyber RF Hardware Engineer to leverage RF, analog, and digital design skills. The role involves developing rapid prototypes, PCB-based designs, and leading efforts for lab acquisition platforms. Candidates need to obtain a Top Secret clearance and hold a BS in a related field with relevant experience. STR is committed to equal opportunity employment and supports hiring without regard to personal attributes. Interested applicants can email [e-mail] for accommodations during the hiring process.

Qualifications

• Able to obtain a Top Secret (TS) security clearance.
• 5 years related experience or 3 years with a MS degree.
• Proven expertise in RF, analog or digital design.

Responsibilities

• Develop rapid prototype RF solutions using COTS and custom designs.
• Conduct tests in a lab environment with test equipment.
• Lead efforts to develop lab-based acquisition and control platforms.

Skills

Electrical circuit design principles

RF design

Problem-solving skills

Mentoring junior staff

Technical material preparation

Education

BS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering or related field

MS in related field

Tools

Oscilloscopes

Spectrum analyzers

VNA

Spice

MATLAB/Simulink

Cadence

Altium

Vivado

Quartus

Job description

STR’s Cyber Division is hiring a Senior Cyber RF Hardware Engineer who will leverage their RF, analog/mixed signal and digital design skills to contribute to a multi-disciplinary team engaged in solving unique problems. The successful candidate will be comfortable designing, analyzing, and characterizing a variety of hardware architectures to aid with software and hardware modeling efforts. They should have a firm grasp of the fundamentals of computer architecture to support both software and hardware reverse engineering tasks and be able to use their hardware expertise to rapidly prototype solutions.

We are seeking candidates with design experience to participate in the development of RF Hardware in the Loop (HWIL) systems, surrogate builds, digital twins, and hardware modeling support platforms that integrate a variety of electrical subsystems, ranging from commercial off the shelf (COTS) components to custom‑designed boards. The successful candidate will contribute to the design process of a growing hardware team by participating in design reviews, producing comprehensive design documentation, and collaborating to ensure quality outputs and support for future design re‑use.

What you will do

• Develop rapid prototype RF solutions to go from free space to bits using a combination of COTS and custom designs
• Develop PCB‑based designs and implement FPGA and embedded software to support HWIL and surrogate designs
• Integrate processor/microcontroller debuggers to extract binary data and integrate in circuit probing solutions to characterize dynamic program execution
• Work in a laboratory environment utilizing test equipment (oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, VNAs, etc.) to characterize and debug complex electronic systems
• Prepare and execute test events for customers and internal and external stakeholders
• Lead efforts to develop lab‑based acquisition and control platforms to aid in test and characterization of hardware systems
• Serve as the hardware team representative on interdisciplinary efforts to contribute knowledge of system architecture and focused processor implementations
• Participate in proposal efforts by providing input on technical path and BOM/cost and schedule estimates

Who you are

• This position requires the ability to obtain a Top Secret (TS) security clearance, for which U.S. citizenship is needed by the U.S. Government
• BS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field with 5 years of related experience OR a MS and 3 years
• Proven expertise of electrical circuit design principles in at least one of the following areas: RF, analog, or digital
• Strong problem‑solving skills and willingness to mentor junior engineering staff
• Experience preparing and presenting technical material to customers and internal staff
• Experience leading hardware efforts from concept to implementation managing cost and scheduling requirements

Nice to Haves

• Active Top Secret (TS) Security Clearance
• Strong RF design or implementation background with experience in system analysis and component characterization
• Experience in RF design, signal processing for satellite or space communications
• Experience in RF design, signal processing for airborne or space remote sensing
• Experience architecting RF hardware solutions and leading RF hardware teams for laboratory and test event environments
• Experience integrating software defined radios and RFSOC platforms
• Experience with Analog and RF circuit simulation and modeling tools (e.g., Spice, MATLAB/Simulink, Microwave Office)
• In depth knowledge of processor architectures and peripherals with experience integrating in‑circuit debuggers and emulators
• Experience using and developing tools and test software for Linux (e.g., Red Hat, Ubuntu)
• Knowledge of PCB design and fabrication principles and familiarity with industry standard CAD tools (e.g., Cadence, Altium, Eagle)
• Digital/FPGA HDL experience using dedicated design tools (e.g., Vivado, Quartus, Simulink/HDL Coder)

STR is an equal opportunity employer. We are fully dedicated to hiring the most qualified candidate regardless of race, color, religion, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation and pregnancy), marital status, national origin, age, veteran status, disability, genetic information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

If you need a reasonable accommodation for any portion of the employment process, email us at [e-mail] and provide your contact info.

Pursuant to applicable federal law and regulations, positions at STR require employees to obtain national security clearances and satisfy the requirements for compliance with export control and other applicable laws.